Maps, spiritualism, superstitions… That’s enough!

Divination, cartomancy or any other superstitious rite of this type aims to predict the future, which only God can know.

After the announced (and then banned) black “mass” at the University of Denver, a reader asked us to explain what the cartomancy or spiritualism groups that abound in the city are all about, because “The greatest confusion reigns in our community, which has been made to believe that this is something that is approved by the Church”.

Here is the explanation that Mgr. Jorge De los Santos, new Spiritual Director of Evangelism at the Archdiocese of Denver.

Divination, cartomancy (how to read maps) or any other superstitious rite aims to predict the future or occult things without having recourse to God. It is about revealing what only God can know. God has revealed certain things to us about the future; for example, there will be judgment, then heaven or hell. God has also given us natural means such as intelligence, study, science and resources to prepare ourselves for the future in a responsible way.

But at the same time, we know that we cannot control our future, it is in God’s hands. We must trust Him as an infinitely good father and cooperate with His grace to do our part. But man, guided by pride, wants to have everything under control, without having to put his trust in God. This is why he seeks illicit knowledge, by means which are outside divine revelation and outside the natural means which are lawful. It was then that he opted for divination. Explicitly or implicitly, divination has recourse to the demon, and the one who practices it remains, to a certain extent, linked to him. There are also those who make a pact directly with the evil one. Who uses divination? Not only in santería, a religion originating in the Caribbean, witchcraft, spiritualism and others.
As one loses faith, divination becomes popular even among people who do not belong to these groups, but who are looking for a solution to a serious problem. Others consider it as nonsense, and practice it out of curiosity or under pressure from a group. But we must remember that in divination it is our faithfulness to God that is at stake, so we should not play with that.

According to the Spanish exorcist Jose Antonio Fortea, among the causes of demonic possession is the fact of “ attend seances of spiritualism, satanic cults or esoteric rites”, and also to make “pact with the devil”. And the presence of demons in a house “may occur when, in this house, spiritualism, satanic rituals, santeria or any other form of esotericism have been constantly practiced”.

Satanism does indeed exist. These are people, groups or movements which, in an isolated or structured way, with a certain organization, practice a certain form of worship (for example: adoration, veneration, evocation) to the demon, devil or satan. For Satanists, this real character is a metaphysical being or force; or an innate mysterious element in the human being; or even an unknown natural energy that is invoked under different proper names (for example: Lucifer), through very specific rites. One of these rites is the satanic “black mass”, like the one announced at Harvard University in the United States. It is a ceremony which, mimicking the Catholic Mass, with the profanation of the Eucharist, denigrates and offends the constituent elements of the Mass, worshiping satan and demons, making fun of the sacrifice of Jesus- Christ on the Cross.